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silverlightqueen · 5 years

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The Other Half - Part 2

badboy!Jimin x richgirl!reader ft. bts, nct 127, twice, red velvet, got7, blackpink and exo

Word Count: 15.1k+

THIS STARTS WHERE PART ONE FINISHED SO GO REFRESH YOURSELF ON HOW IT ENDS !!!

Summary - In Winchester, y/n has it all. Gorgeous and glamorous. A friendship group just as gorgeous and glamorous. Fantastic grades. A handsome boyfriend with a family just as successful as hers. A doting dad and a brother just as beautiful as she is. An amazing school, and an even more amazing house. As many cars and clothes and bags and shoes, and as much makeup and money she could ever ask for. But when Winchester Academy puts on an exchange programme with Burnley Tech School, a high school in an underprivileged area, two completely different worlds collide, and y/n has her hands full, practically overflowing, dealing with her exchange partner, bad boy Jimin with a whole lot of baggage…

DISCLAIMER - I do not know some of these idols very well and so the portrayal of their personalities and behaviour are not 100% accurate. They are also dramatised and changed for the purpose of this story. Please do not consider my portrayal of these idols as my opinions on them.

Warnings - TRIGGERING CONTENT !! talk of weight and dieting, toxic relationship, bad language, classism, discussion of rape, I guess kind of abuse within a relationship, discussion of death, discussion of sex, I think that’s it

a/n: part two is finally here ! lmk what y’all think and hmu if you wanna be on the taglist ! you can also ask my muse if you’d like !!

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silverlightqueen masterlist

taglist💕: @sakurauchiha2018 @jesuislalune @haileykurayami @mayumioutloud @jiminsreads @rjsmochii @generousrunawaylove @jennafromhome @locharnathebanana @pjmcth @silverlightprincess

When we re-join the group outside, they all stare at us amusedly. ‘You both left your bags. Oh, and your exchange partners,’ Dahyun says sarcastically, and I flip her off. ‘They aren’t little kids, they can look after themselves,’ Taeyong says as he goes to sit between Seulgi and Irene. ‘Sorry, Jimin,’ I say, perching on the arm of the bench he sits on. ‘It’s alright. Where did you go?’ he asks with a small grin, already knowing the answer. ‘He just wanted to talk to me about something,’ I reply, and his grin widens as he nods. ‘Hmm, okay. I’m surprised, princess. Wouldn’t have taken you for the type of girl to suck dick, especially not at school,’ he says under his breath, his crude language making me choke on air. ‘Because I’m not,’ I reply, and he nods indulgently. ‘Tell that to the marks on your knees,’ he says and, sure enough, my knees slightly scuffed and sore. I opt to not say anything, feeling heat rush to my face, and Jimin only smiles wider, immensely amused at the entire thing. At least one of us is.

‘What do you think, y/n?’ Chaeyoung asks, and my attention is turned back to the group. ‘What’s this?’ I ask, pulling my skirt over my knees, Taeyong watching me do so with a cocky smirk. ‘I was thinking we should go on a night out this weekend, all of us, just to break the ice a bit, you know? We could invite Jen, Lisa, Rosie, Jisoo, Jinyoung and Chanyeol and their partners as well?’ Chaeyoung suggests, and I nod. ‘That sounds like a good idea. But if we definitely are, let me know far in advance. I’ll need to get an outfit,’ I say, the other girls nodding in agreement. ‘What kind of things do you guys wear on a night out? Where do you shop?’ Wendy asks, and we all exchange a look. ‘We don’t, um, really go shopping for a night out. We get our outfits made to make sure no one will be wearing the same as us. But we could all go shopping together, if you want?’ Mina says, the BTS students looking at us wide-eyed. ‘Wait, so every time you need a new outfit, you get someone in to make it?’ Jungkook asks. ‘Not every time. Usually just for a night out,’ Tzuyu says, almost sheepishly. ‘Wow, you guys are rich rich, huh?’ Xiumin says, all of us laughing.

‘Right, is everyone free on Saturday night?’ Chaeyoung asks, looking down at her phone as she taps away. We all give various forms of confirmations. ‘Good. I’m making a new group chat with all of us in it now. And none of you put it on mute, because we have to make sure no one misses out on any plans,’ she says. We all exchanged numbers and social medias earlier, so this group chat is gonna have all of the Winchester and BTS students in it. I wonder if it’ll die straight after the night out or actually last like our Winchester one has. I can’t remember the last time a day went by without someone sending something to the group chat. ‘Okay, I’ll send the restaurant, the bar and the club into the group chat then. And I get to choose because I’m the one who suggested it,’ Chaeyoung says, the boys groaning. We have different tastes in establishments, you could say. The boys say we choose boring places, but we just prefer to go somewhere classy. ‘Wait, you guys go to a restaurant, bar and club? Isn’t that really… never mind,’ Jin says, trailing off, and Sana prompts him to continue, ‘go on. What were you gonna say?’ ‘I was gonna ask if it was really expensive, but obviously, it doesn’t matter about the expense,’ he says.

‘Wait, so what do you guys do for a night out?’ Jihyo asks. ‘We usually have pre-drinks at a pub or someone’s house and then go straight to a club at, like, 11, or we have a party and then go out afterwards,’ Yoongi says. ‘Well, we could do that if you guys would prefer it,’ Mark says, and my heart melts at the way the boys seem to be trying to make the exchange students feel comfortable. I had been worried about the boys being insensitive, but obviously my concerns were unnecessary. ‘No, no, we wanna do a night out the way you guys do. We’re here to live like you do, right?’ the other Mark says, Nayeon grinning widely. ‘Trust me, you’ll all love our nights out. And Mark, I’ll get the tailor in tomorrow and we’ll get you a new outfit made too. You know, if you wanna live like we do,’ she says, her and her partner sharing a grin. ‘That sounds good, yeah,’ he says, Johnny watching the exchange with an unreadable expression. ‘Jae, what nights are you home this week? I’ll message Chaerin now,’ I say, referring to our stylist. ‘Um, we’re at home on Wednesday. We’re busy the other nights,’ Jaehyun replies. ‘We?’ I ask, my brother looking slightly sheepish. ‘Oh, well, we’ve got football on Tuesday and Friday, and the BTS boys are coming too. And then Thursday, I’m taking Jimin and Jungkook to the golf club with a few of the others,’ he says. ‘When was this decided?’ I ask, slightly annoyed that he’s making plans with my exchange partner without consulting me. ‘When you and Taeyong disappeared for your chat,’ Jaehyun says drily, and I have the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

‘Well, whatever. I’ll be crashing your trip to the golf club; you know I love it there. Oh, and father goes away on Friday morning, so that means I’ll have the house to myself on Friday night. Shall we have a girls’ night? Ooh, we could all get manicures, pedicures, facials and massages!’ I say, getting excited. I want more than anything to spoil the BTS kids while they’re here, knowing we’re privileged to be able to do what we do and wanting them to live that lifestyle, even if only for a while. ‘That sounds fun, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to afford that and the night out on Saturday,’ Joy says, almost sheepishly. ‘No, no, you don’t have to pay, for either. I’ll just hire the people for the night, and we’ll pay for Saturday. Don’t worry about it,’ I say. ‘No, I feel bad about you guys paying for everything,’ Namjoon says, and we all give protests.

‘At the end of the day, the fact is that our parents are loaded. This money has to go somewhere because it can’t go to the grave with us. We may as well spend it where we can, and there’s no point you guys wasting your money on something that our parents could fund with no trouble,’ Taeil says, carefully and tactfully, avoiding any words that might offend one of the BTS students. ‘Well, I guess when you put it like that,’ Taehyung says with a cheeky smile, all of us laughing. ‘I’ll make another group chat, just for the girls’, so we can plan this girls’ night,’ I say, the BTS girls smiling at me. ‘That’s not fair,’ Jungkook complains, ‘I wanna be on the girls’ group chat.’ ‘Why?’ Yeri asks. ‘This girls’ night sounds fun,’ he says, ‘I wanna come.’ ‘Well, we’re going to football, remember?’ Jaehyun reminds him, and he nods. When Jaehyun looks away, Jungkook makes eye contact with me and mouths the words, ‘help me’. I burst out laughing, everyone looking at me quizzically. ‘Oh, sorry,’ I say as Jungkook grins at me, ‘just thought of something funny.’

‘And then she said that I was too…’ Jaehyun trails off when he sees me approaching and I raise an eyebrow at him, an amused smile on my face. ‘Don’t let me interrupt you,’ I say, the other boys around him all laughing. ‘No, I’ll finish my story once you’re gone,’ he says, and I roll my eyes. ‘Whatever. I just came to ask if you were ready to go, Jimin,’ I say, the boy nodding and rising up from the bench. ‘What’s the rush? Let him stay a while, we’re getting to know each other,’ Taeyong says with a smile. ‘I would, but I’ve made plans for us. Surprise plans,’ I say when they all shoot me questioning looks. ‘Okay, well, have fun,’ Taeyong says, grinning as he taps his cheek. I press a gentle kiss to his soft skin, the boy not as tense as he was earlier, before he staked his claim on me in front of all the new kids. ‘Come on, Jimin. See you tomorrow, guys,’ I say. ‘See you,’ Jimin says, the rest of the group bidding us goodbye. ‘We’ll be home soon,’ Jaehyun says about him and Jungkook, and I nod. ‘Alright,’ I say, leading Jimin away and towards where the girls wait for us.

‘Jimin, I love this colour on you. I’ve been thinking of getting purple done soon,’ Dahyun says as we walk to the car park. ‘Thanks. I used a box dye,’ he says, all of us looking at him in surprise. ‘And it turned out that good?’ Sana asks. ‘Yeah, it took a couple boxes to get the right colour, but this is the end result,’ he says. ‘I always get it done by a stylist, but maybe I’ll have to try box dye next,’ Dahyun says, Jimin grinning. ‘It’s the way forward,’ he says. ‘You’ll have to let me know which brand you use,’ Dahyun says, Jimin nodding. ‘Yeah, of course, I’ll text it you later,’ he says as we reach the car park. I bid all the girls goodbye and Jimin and I get into the car, both of us throwing our bags into the back. I put the RnB playlist on again and pull out of the car park as quickly as I can, not wanting to get stuck behind the other girls. ‘How come the boys stay after school?’ Jimin asks, and I shrug. ‘I don’t really know. They treat it like a social club. They don’t usually head home ‘til an hour after school’s finished. Why they want to stay at school even longer, I don’t know,’ I say, Jimin nodding in agreement.

‘I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I don’t owe the guy any loyalty so I will, because I have a sense of decency,’ Jimin says, and I look over at him, intrigued. ‘Taeyong was talking about you, a little while before you came over. He was being a bit… vulgar,’ Jimin says, the word sounding unnatural from his mouth. ‘What do you mean?’ I ask. ‘He was, like, talking about what happened when you two disappeared, and he was speaking about you like you were an object, not his girlfriend, or whatever it is you are to him,’ he says, and I don’t say anything. ‘Obviously, I get that I’m a newcomer, so I don’t know what your guys’ relationship is like, but I know that if I heard any guy back home talking about his girl the way Taeyong was just talking about you, I’d throw hands,’ he says. I’ve never heard the expression ‘throw hands’ but I’m pretty sure I can infer. ‘Truth be told, I’m not surprised. The culture here is different. We might be a lot more modernised in some senses, but we’re also a lot more old-fashioned. Boys always talk about their girls like that; it’s standard. I appreciate you letting me know, but it’s nothing out of the norm,’ I say, Jimin raising an eyebrow at me. ‘Seriously? You don’t have an issue with him degrading you?’ Jimin asks. ‘I do, Jimin, but it doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t matter if I have an issue with it or not. I can’t pull him up on it, because he’ll get angry, and if he gets angry, our parents will get involved. It’ll cause tensions in our relationship, and we’ll end up getting married when we don’t get along. If I just leave it, then we stay in this honeymoon period forever,’ I say, and Jimin scoffs. ‘You should be able to pull him up on it, and he’d change his ways if he loved you,’ Jimin says, the subliminal message in his words obvious; ‘he doesn’t love you’. ‘Well, thank you for your concern, Jimin, but you’re new here, so you don’t get how it works, and I’d appreciate it if you kept your nose out of it,’ I say, my voice tense, and he lets out a humourless laugh. ‘Whatever,’ he says, both of us falling silent as I pull up to a Starbucks.

‘What drink do you get?’ I ask. ‘I don’t have any money on me,’ he says. ‘That’s not what I asked,’ I reply. ‘A caramel frappe,’ he says. ‘Cream or coffee?’ I ask. ‘Cream,’ he replies. ‘With or without whipped cream?’ ‘With.’ I pull up to the drive-through and wait for the worker to ask me for my order, leaning out of the window slightly. ‘Can I get two grande caramel frapps, one cream based with whipped cream and the other skinny, coffee based with almond milk, no whipped cream and only two pumps of caramel,’ I say, and when the barista’s finished taking my order, I drive towards the first window. ‘God, it’s like the ‘popular American high school girl’ is based on you,’ he says lightly, obviously trying to clear the air, and I laugh in response. ‘They wish they were me,’ I reply, getting a laugh from him in return. ‘Listen, y/n, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried like that, and I’ll keep my nose out of your business,’ he says. ‘No, it’s okay, I understand where you were coming from. It’s just that-’ I begin to say, but the barista holds the card machine out and I’m distracted. I quickly grab my bag from the back, pulling out my purse and getting out my card. I hold it to the card machine and pull it away when it beeps. ‘Thank you,’ I say with a smile, the barista giving me a big smile in return.

I drive up to the next window, feeling Jimin’s eyes on me. ‘What?’ I ask. ‘Was that… is that a black card?’ he asks, and I hold up my card. ‘This? Yeah, it’s connected to my dad’s bank account,’ I say. ‘What does your dad do?’ he asks incredulously. ‘He, um, owns his own law firm,’ I say. ‘That’s so cool. I wanted to be a lawyer,’ he says, and I smile at him. ‘I could see you as a lawyer. Why not anymore?’ I ask. ‘You have to go to uni to be a lawyer, and I can’t exactly… afford it. And I gotta take over the bakery and stuff so… it’s whatever,’ he says, and my heart breaks. ‘That sucks, Jimin, I’m really sorry. If it makes it any better, I wanted to be a lawyer too, but I… I’m not really allowed,’ I say. ‘What do you mean?’ he asks. ‘Taeyong will be the one who goes out and gets a job, probably in law, and earns, and I’ll be at home, looking after the house and kids,’ I say, just before the barista leans out of the window, handing us a small paper bag along with our drinks. I hand Jimin his drink before peering into the bag, seeing a caramel shortcake and a number scrawled onto the packaging of it. I roll my eyes, offering him the bag, and he takes it. ‘Don’t you want it?’ he asks, and I shake my head. ‘Diet,’ I reply. ‘I meant the phone number, princess,’ he says, and I laugh. ‘No. A) I have a man – remember? – and B) it’s only because they saw the black card. Guaranteed,’ I say, putting my drink into the cup holder and driving off. ‘Do you always get free stuff?’ he asks. ‘Yeah, and it doesn’t make sense to me. Why give rich people stuff for free?’ I say, heading out of the Starbucks and onto the road.

‘Can we rewind just a bit? Did you say that you have to be a housewife while Taeyong earns?’ he asks, and I nod. ‘That’s the way it works around here,’ I say, and Jimin shakes his head. ‘That’s ridiculous,’ he says, and I shrug. ‘It’s also the reason why I can’t pull Taeyong up on anything. If he decides he doesn’t want to marry me, I’ll be screwed because it’s unlikely I’ll be able to get a job and provide for myself. That’s why I have to keep him sweet and pander to his every whim,’ I say, and Jimin shakes his head. ‘Why don’t you just be independent? Your dad seems supportive; he’d support you, emotionally and financially, if you went to uni after school, right? You should just live by yourself and become a lawyer,’ he says, and I smile sadly. ‘I’d become a social outcast, and I thrive on social interaction. Trust me, Jimin, I’ve thought of every possibility but what I’m doing now is what’s best for me. I’ll be Mrs Lee Taeyong for the rest of my life if it means I can be financially secure and safe and… content,’ I say, and Jimin sighs. ‘I might have it tough, but I guess you do too. I’m sorry you’re in this situation, y/n,’ he says. ‘Don’t be silly, my problems are nothing compared to yours. You can’t even go to uni to follow your dreams,’ I say, and Jimin laughs. ‘Not like you can either though,’ he says, and I shrug. ‘C'est la vie, mon ami,’ I reply, and he raises an eyebrow. ‘That’s life, my love,’ I translate, and he nods in understanding.

He opens his mouth to speak but before he can, a phone starts ringing. ‘Is that your phone?’ he asks, and I shake my head. ‘My phone’s connected to the car, so it would ring through the speakers,’ I say. ‘Well, it’s not mine,’ he says, holding his up in his hand, and I frown. ‘Have I picked up Tae’s or something by accident?’ I think aloud. ‘Oh, my God!’ Jimin suddenly exclaims, unintelligibly muttering to himself as he reaches into the back and grabs his bag, the ringing coming from inside it. He pulls out the phone, an old iPhone from years ago, and rejects the call, putting it away. ‘Who’s is that?’ I ask. ‘It’s, um… it’s mine,’ he says, and I give him a confused look. ‘You have… two phones?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘This one’s my main phone, and the other one… it’s my old one; it has all my pictures on it,’ he says, and I give him a confused look. ‘So who was calling it?’ I ask, and he shrugs. ‘Probably just a call centre,’ he says, and I nod. I’m still confused, and I don’t quite believe him, but I won’t pry. I don’t understand why he’d have another phone and I can’t come up with another reasonable explanation other than his pictures, so I leave the matter.

‘What were you gonna say?’ I ask. ‘I was gonna say that I don’t agree with things like that. ‘That’s life’ and ‘life’s not fair’. I see life as being what you make it. I know I can’t achieve what I want to, but there’s no point being bitter about it. So I make life better for myself, try to have a positive outlook on the life that I will have to lead. One day, I’ll get married and have kids and run the bakery. Yes, that’s a simple life, but I’ll be… what’s the word you used again? Um… content. Not exactly happy, but content,’ he says, and I nod. ‘And I guess I’m the same. I am positive about my future. Me and Taeyong may have our issues, but I still love him, and he loves me. We’ll move in to a beautiful house together when we finish school, probably get married while he’s still at university or law school or whatever and have an amazing wedding, and then we’ll have kids and I’ll be the ‘lady of the house’ while he goes out and earns. Don’t you think there’s something fun about your life being a permanent weekend? I’ll take the kids out all the time, have the girls and their kids over, or all go out on day trips together, and then have date nights or family nights when Tae gets home. Again, it’s a simple life, but I’ll be content,’ I say, and he smiles. ‘You’re right. Our lives will be simple but we’ll both be content,’ he says, and I smile back at him as we pull up to the house.

As I pull up on the driveway, Changwoo appears to put the car away. We both climb out, drinks in hand, and Changwoo takes the keys from me. ‘Good day at school, miss, sir?’ he asks us both. ‘Yeah, it was good, thank you,’ Jimin replies, seemingly surprised at being called sir. ‘Amazing, Changwoo. I got my English results back from that test last week; I got an A!’ I exclaim, and Changwoo grins. ‘As expected from someone as smart as yourself, miss. Well done,’ he says. ‘Thank you. How was your day, Changwoo?’ I ask. ‘Great, thank you, miss. Your father had to make a few trips, so I got to drive him around in the Bentley,’ he says, and I grin. ‘You do love the Bentley. Is father home now?’ I ask, and he shakes his head. ‘He’s at the firm, miss, there was some sort of emergency. I expect it’ll be another late night,’ he says, and I sigh. ‘As usual. Well, thank you, anyway. I’ll see you later, Changwoo,’ I say, the man bowing his head before Jimin and I head up to the house. ‘You’ve got a good relationship with your staff, huh?’ he asks as I push open the double doors, and I nod. ‘They basically raised me,’ I begin, but get distracted with the new flower display in the foyer.

‘Oh, my God, they brought in white orchids this week!’ I exclaim, deeply inhaling the floral scent. ‘New flowers every week?’ Jimin asks with a raised eyebrow, and I nod sheepishly. ‘I get them ordered in,’ I say, and he pulls a fake shocked face. ‘No way! I’d have thought Jaehyun was the one who has them ordered in if you hadn’t cleared that up,’ he says, and I stick my tongue out at him, walking over to the centre table where a display sits proudly. ‘I love flowers. Mum does as well. Well, she did. She took me, every week, to the flower shop to pick out a new arrangement. After she died, I used to carry on the tradition and pick out new flowers, but I started to get too busy, so I got the staff to order it in. Mum always smells like flowers too. And then the whole house smelled like flowers when she died. I like to think her spirit spread out into the house and she still wanders here, making the place smell like flowers,’ I say, talking without even thinking, and then look over at Jimin embarrassedly. ‘Obviously, I know it’s not really her spirit-’ ‘No, don’t. I think that’s really nice. And you’re right. If her spirit is gonna be anywhere, it’d be here. In the house she lived in with her husband, her son and her daughter who still fills the house up with flowers for her. Of course she’s here,’ he says softly, and I tear up. ‘I never thought of it like that,’ I say, and he smiles at me gently. ‘Well, there you go. She stays here because you make it smell like flowers, and you fill it up with flowers because it smells like her. It’s beautiful,’ he says, and I nod, agreeing. A tear spills out onto my cheek and, seemingly on reflex, he lifts his hand to wipe it away, my eyes locked with his chocolate brown ones. Almost as though his mind catches up with his actions, he jerks his hand away from my face suddenly, both of us flinching, and he looks away from me.

‘Anyway,’ I say, looking away from him, ‘let’s go get changed and then I’ll give you a tour of the place.’ We head up the staircase, and head towards where our rooms are. ‘I’m gonna just change into my comfies, you do the same if you want? Just knock on my door when you’re done,’ I say, and he nods, heading into his room. I practically run into my room, knowing he’ll end up getting changed so much quicker than I will. I strip off my uniform, going into my wardrobe and looking for what to wear. I decide on a pair of black cycling shorts (they’re my guilty pleasure; I’d never wear them in public – where a gossip magazine can take a picture of me – or around my judgy friends, but I practically live in them when I’m at home) and a black Balenciaga t-shirt that I tie into a knot, exposing a little strip of my stomach. I worked hard for this body, might as well show it off, you know? Jimin knocks at the door then, and I go to open it. He’s dressed in his Puma sweatpants again, this time with a black Nike hoodie, and he’s wearing white Nike socks on his feet (thankfully a little strip of his leg is visible as he hasn’t pulled them up; it’s literally a crime if people pull up their socks underneath sweatpants). ‘I’ve just gotta put socks on, come in for a second,’ I say, moving to the side. He looks around at my room, and I know what he’s thinking, slightly embarrassed. My room is ridiculously lavish; grey, white, black and pink, (faux) fur and velvet everywhere, a walk-in wardrobe that’s bursting at the seams with clothes, makeup spilling out of the drawers of my vanity with its light-up mirror. I go into my wardrobe, looking for my favourite black fluffy socks, custom designed by Rob Kardashian for my 18th birthday.

When I finally find them and go back into my room, Jimin’s stood at the wall that’s covered edge to edge with photos. Me with my friends, various celebrities I’ve met over the years, my family, our staff, Taeyong, dad, Jaehyun, mum. At parties, nights out, nights in, school, the golf club, the beach, the shopping centre, on birthdays and anniversaries and Christmas and Halloween and New Years and Valentine’s Day. I see Jimin lift up a hand, and expect him to point out the picture of me with the Kardashian children, Anna Wintour maybe, or Sasha Obama, possibly with Oprah, or the one with Kris Jenner. But he points at my favourite one on the wall. The picture that was taken a few days before mum died; we were just having a family day in. Dad was behind the camera and we were sat on the sofa with mum, seven-year-old Jaehyun and I on either side of her. We’re all smiling widely at the camera, all of us in matching Christmas pyjamas, something I remember Jaehyun not being too happy about. I remember everything from inside that picture, the way mum smelt, the way we’d had to beg Jaehyun to wear the pyjamas, the way dad had taken so many photos to get one without someone’s eyes closed or one that wasn’t blurry, the way mum had gripped onto Jaehyun and I so hard, as though she was desperate not to let us go.

‘That’s your mum?’ he asks, and I nod. ‘You look like her. A lot, actually. She’s a beautiful woman,’ he says, and I smile at him. ‘Thank you. She is beautiful, isn’t she? Or she was, anyway,’ I say. ‘No, talk about her in the present tense. She’s still here. As long as you and your brother and your dad live, she lives on with you. And I’m sure your kids will know about her, right? So she’ll live on through them too. As long as you remember someone, you never really lose them. They’re never really dead,’ he says, and again, my eyes have teared up at how touching his words are. I turn to look at him, but he doesn’t look back at me, eyes still fixed on the photo. ‘Have you ever lost anyone?’ I ask him, and he sighs, still not looking at me. ‘I… I nearly lost my mum. She had cancer, and it wasn’t terminal, but it did nearly kill her. I really thought I lost her. I used to be… not a bad son, but not a great one either. I was never really grateful for my parents and everything they did for me, I hated having to work in the bakery, I hated having to look after my brother, and I used to get in a lot of trouble. At school, and outside of school. Now, not a day goes by that I don’t tell mum I love her, that I don’t tell my dad and my brother the same too. I changed my life. I worked at the bakery all the time and I started to love it, because I could spend time with my parents. I loved looking after my brother, because it wasn’t long until we were spending time together rather than me looking after him; we were, like, best friends. I get in trouble a lot less, but old habits die hard, so I can’t help but get in a little trouble from time to time. But after nearly losing her, it put everything into perspective. You realise there’s more to life, you know? I remember saying to my dad that I was scared of losing her and – this was when we thought she was definitely going to die – he said to me what I said to you; as long as you remember someone, you never really lose them,’ he says, and without even thinking about it, I clasp one of his hands in mine. It’s warm and soft, and his fingers curl around mine in response, my heart jumping slightly.

‘I’m sorry that you had to go through that; I hope I can meet your mum one day,’ I say, and he finally turns to look at me, a small smile on his face and a tear in his eye, threatening to spill down his cheek. ‘I hope so too. And I’m sorry your mum died. I just know she’s an amazing person, and it would’ve been nice to meet her,’ he says, and I grin. ‘She is an amazing person. I’ll tell you all about her. But another time. Let me show you around the house,’ I say, and he nods with a smile. ‘Let’s do it.’

I let go of his hand and pick up my phone from the bed, both of us heading out of my room. ‘Okay, we’ll go this way,’ I say, leading him down the corridor, away from the staircase. I show him the home cinema, the music room (that nobody uses and is pretty much there for decoration), and my other wardrobe where the rest of my clothes and accessories are (this one’s two stories and about the size of an Olympic swimming pool). Then I take him downstairs and show him where the staff quarters are, before I show him the games room, the indoor pool, the library (one of my favourite rooms in the house) and the panic room. Then I take him outside, behind the house, and show him the outdoor pool, the football pitch, the basketball court, the tennis courts, the golf course, the greenhouse and the patio where I host garden parties during the summer. Then I bring him back inside and show him the three living rooms, the ballroom, the dining room and the various bathrooms around our house. ‘There we go. That is our house,’ I say as we reach the foyer, stopping by the table where the bouquet of flowers sits. ‘It’s amazing. I mean, who even has a ballroom?’ he asks, and I wince. ‘Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve ever actually used it for its purpose. Maybe I should throw a big ball one day. On your guys’ last day!’ I exclaim, and Jimin laughs. ‘I’m not sure if we’re the right crowd for you to host a ball in honour of us,’ he says, and I frown. ‘Balls are for everyone, regardless of where they’re from, and how wealthy their parents are,’ I say pointedly, and he grins. ‘If you say so,’ he says, and I shake my head. ‘Okay, so what’s this big surprise you have planned?’ he asks, and I grin. ‘It’s not really that big of a deal, so don’t get your hopes up, okay?’ I say, and he nods. ‘Come on, then,’ I say, gently holding onto his wrist and leading him through into the kitchen. It’s been set up for us by Eunha, different ingredients and apparatus practically covering the island, and Jimin’s eyes widen.

‘What’s all this for?’ he asks, and I grin, picking up the two aprons sat on the counter, throwing one to him. ‘You are going to teach me how to bake something, because you have baking experience,’ I say, and he smiles at me, both of us putting our aprons on. I try to tie mine myself and he laughs. ‘Let me do it, princess,’ he says, and I turn to face away from him. I feel him take the straps into his hands and knot them, pulling them tight, before he skilfully ties it into a bow, his fingers gently grazing the strip of my exposed back, and I try not to shudder as a little shock runs through me. ‘Tight enough?’ he asks, and I nod, turning back to face him. ‘Shall I do yours?’ I ask, and he nods, turning away from me. I tie it for him and then he turns back to face me, grinning. ‘What shall we bake?’ he asks, and I shrug. ‘You tell me, baker boy, you’re the expert here. What’s your bakery’s speciality?’ I ask him, and he thinks for a moment. ‘Um, the hotteok is pretty popular. And the bungeoppang,’ he says, and I nod. ‘Shall we make both? They won’t take too long, right?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘It should take like an hour max,’ he says, and I smile. ‘Perfect! Let’s get baking!’

We start by Jimin picking out the ingredients and kitchenware we need, moving everything else to the side and out of our way, whilst I choose a playlist, ultimately settling on a hip-hop and RnB one. Then we begin making separate doughs for the hotteok, Jimin talking me through step-by-step. His seems to look better than mine, which I’m slightly jealous about, but I guess the years of experience he has have paid off, making him a great baker. We then put it to ‘ferment’ (which sounds gross but apparently, it’s just means that it’ll double in size – who knew?) and start on the bungeoppang. We mix the batter and then pour it into the mould. Jimin says to make some with the usual red bean paste, and some with Nutella because they taste really nice, so we do so, working as a team; he pours in the batter, I put the filling, and then he puts the rest of the batter onto the top, our method quite successful. Our bungeoppang turns out really well, and we set them to cool before getting out the ‘fermented’ hotteok dough. We split up the dough into pancake sized pieces before cooking them in a pan until they’re golden brown. We set those to cool too, the final results looking amazing, and the room smells great too.

Jimin sighs contentedly, and I look at him as he leans against the counter. ‘You’ve got flour on your nose. And cheek. And forehead,’ he says amusedly, reaching over to brush it off. ‘Thanks,’ I say, laughing, once he’s done, and he smiles. ‘It’s fine. My mum’s the same; whenever she bakes, more of the ingredients end up on her than they do in the food,’ he says, a wistful smile on his face, and my heart goes out to him; he must miss his mum, his family, his home a lot. He takes a deep breath in, eyes closed, before slowly breathing out, a soft smile on his face. ‘It smells like home,’ he says gently, and I grin. ‘I thought it might,’ I say, glad that my idea worked, and he looks at me, surprised. ‘Wait… don’t tell me you thought we should bake so that it would smell like my home?’ he says, and I nod. ‘I know you must be missing home already – I know that I would be – so I thought it’d be a nice way to bring your home to you,’ I say shyly, and he smiles a wide, genuine smile, eyes disappearing behind their lids. ‘Thank you, y/n, that’s really thoughtful. I appreciate it a lot,’ he says, and I smile, feeling blood rushing to my cheeks. ‘It’s the least I could do. And anyway, your surprise isn’t over yet. I’ve got something else planned… but I wanna try these first,’ I say, looking over at our baking, and he laughs.

‘We’ll wait a little while then, yeah?’ he suggests, and I nod, watching as he takes a seat at the breakfast bar. ‘You want something to drink?’ I ask him, and he nods. ‘Just water, please,’ he says, and I nod, getting out two glasses and filling them up with water from the fridge. I hand him one of the glasses, getting a straw out for myself, and offer him one. He shakes his head amusedly as I sip from my water with the straw, not wanting to ruin my lipstick. We both go on our phones for a little while, scrolling through social media, and then a message from Chaeyoung comes through on a new group chat. ‘Ooh, she made it,’ I say, both of us opening the message straight away. It’s a long message, including the bookings she’s made for the restaurant, bar and club, and what times the bookings are for, bullet points and all. She’s booked an Italian restaurant called Bella Vita for 8 until 10, then a bar that I love called Midnight Violet (they serve all these really cool drinks – some of them are on fire, or have smoke coming out of them, or they’re glow-in-the-dark) from 10.15 until 11.30, and then a booth in the RnB room at our favourite club, Nova, from 12 until closing time, 5.

‘We’re gonna be out from 8 ‘til 5?’ Jimin asks, and I nod with a grin. ‘That’s nothing. Sometimes we go for a night out a little further away, about forty minutes from here, and there’s club there called Sunrise that opens at 4am and closes at 10am. Sometimes we’ll go there after the first club and stay out ‘til the late hours of the morning,’ I say, and his mouth drops open. ‘Wow, you guys really are… hardcore,’ he says, and I nod. ‘You don’t know the half of it. But it’ll be a great night out. Nova’s a really good club too; there’s loads of different rooms for every music taste; there’s a pop one, a RnB one, a hip-hop one, a techno one. You guys will love it, trust me,’ I say, and he grins. ‘Sounds good. But, in Chaeyoung’s… itinerary, she hasn’t put anything about home pre-drinks and post-club-kebabs. Please don’t tell me you guys don’t do either of those things,’ he says, and I bite my lip. ‘Um, we don’t. But we can introduce them! We can do home pre-drinks all together, get taxis to the restaurant, and then stop for kebabs on the way home from the club! Dad’s away this weekend, so I’m sure we could host pre-drinks here. Oh, my God, everyone could stay over at ours for the night!’ I say, starting to get excited. ‘Okay, okay, princess, before you get too excited, why don’t you put it on the group chat and see what everyone says?’ Jimin suggests, just as Jaehyun and Jungkook enter the room.

‘Put what on the group chat?’ Jaehyun asks. ‘Mmm, it smells so good in here. It smells like… like…’ Jungkook says, sniffing the air intently to try and work out why he recognises the smell. ‘Like my house?’ Jimin prompts, and Jungkook takes another sniff before nodding. ‘Yeah, yeah it does. What did you guys bake?’ he asks, spotting the racks covered in tea towels on the other side of the room. ‘Hotteok and bungeoppang,’ Jimin grins, and Jungkook’s mouth falls open. ‘Your mum’s recipe?’ he asks, and Jimin nods. ‘Oh, my God, can I have some? Please, y/n, pretty please?’ he begs me, and I’m taken aback at him asking me. ‘Yeah, of course, they should be cool enough now, right, Jimin?’ I ask, and Jimin nods, Jungkook taking that as a cue to pounce and stuff an entire hotteok in his mouth. ‘Ew,’ I say before I’m able to stop myself, all three of the boys laughing, Jungkook having to hold a hand over his mouth to stop the food from coming out, and I can’t stop myself from laughing with them. We all try some of the food, both the hotteok and bungeoppang, and it tastes amazing. ‘Mmm, this tastes amazing, Jimin,’ I say for the sixth time, and Jimin laughs. ‘You made it too, y/n,’ he says, and I shake my head. ‘It’s your recipe and expertise and so, the credit goes to you,’ I say, and he shakes his head. ‘Both of us,’ he says, and I roll my eyes with an amused smile.

‘Anyway, what were you telling y/n to put on the group chat, Jimin?’ Jaehyun asks. ‘Oh, she had an idea to have everyone sleep over here this weekend after the night out, and she was making all these different plans, and I said to put it on the group chat and see what they all say before getting carried away,’ Jimin explains. ‘She has a habit of that,’ Jaehyun says, and I scowl. ‘No, I don’t.’ ‘You do. But it’s fine. It’s cute. The flowers are nice this week, aren’t they?’ Jaehyun says, changing the subject, and I nod. ‘They smell amazing. I wanna find a perfume like it,’ I say. ‘Get one made. Ooh, that can be your next birthday present from me, so I’ll get it done,’ he says, and I pout. ‘No, birthday presents are supposed to be surprises, Jae, think of something else,’ I say, and he rolls his eyes. ‘Well, whatever. That’s a good idea about having everyone over, you should put it on the group chat. We could use the bigger living room, get loads of mattresses and airbeds put down so we can all sleep in the same room,’ he says, and I nod. ‘Oh, but…’ I begin, but trail off, Jaehyun raising an eyebrow. ‘Me and Mina will be in the living room with everyone else, so you and Taeyong should be too. You know dad doesn’t like it when you two share a room,’ Jaehyun says, and I feel blood rushing to my cheeks again. ‘No, I… well, you’ll have to have that conversation with Taeyong then,’ I sigh, and Jaehyun raises an eyebrow.

‘I have to tell your man that you two can’t share a room?’ Jaehyun says. ‘Jae, you know it’s not that simple,’ I say, not wanting to get into it in front of Jimin and Jungkook. ‘I think it’s pretty simple, y/n, and I also think it’s pretty shitty that you’re scared to tell your man that you’re not gonna have sex with him,’ Jaehyun says. ‘Jae, shut up!’ I exclaim, knowing any of the staff or even our father could walk in at any moment. ‘Well, it’s true! What do you guys think?’ Jaehyun says, turning to Jimin and Jungkook, who both looking slightly awkward and embarrassed. ‘Jaehyun, you know it’s not like that,’ I say before they can answer, and he scoffs. ‘y/n, what I know is that it is exactly like that! You want me to tell him because you’re scared to refuse him, which literally means that he is having non-consensual sex with you, which is rape! But you won’t tell me, and you won’t tell dad, and you won’t tell anyone, because you’re scared of something and I don’t know what it is because you don’t speak to me! I bet you didn’t wanna suck him off at school today, but he was angry at you because of Jimin, and you don’t like it when he’s angry with you, so you did it. I can’t even imagine how many times something like that has happened to you!’ he says. ‘It’s not rape! I’m in a relationship with him!’ I exclaim, tears coming to my eyes, and Jaehyun scoffs. ‘Of course it’s rape. If you didn’t want to have sex but you do anyway, then it’s rape, you moron! But I can’t even say anything to him, because if I do, you’ll stick up for him like always, and I don’t know why! You don’t have to marry him, y/n!’ Jaehyun says. ‘I want to marry him! I love him! You’re making him sound like an abuser, and he’s not!’ I shout, the tears spilling down my cheeks, and Jaehyun laughs humourlessly. ‘When will you understand that I’m not saying this for no reason? I’m saying it because it’s what I see, because I’m worried about you, because you’re my sister and I love you, y/n!’ he shouts back. ‘I know that, but you don’t need to worry,’ I say defeatedly, another tear falling with every blink, and Jaehyun lets out another humourless laugh. ‘I don’t know if you’re just in denial, or completely delusional, but when you realise that what you and Taeyong have is not love and you’re better off without him, I’ll be waiting to help you. But until you realise that, y/n, until you realise that you and me are on the same side, and it’s not the side with him on it, there’s nothing I can do,’ he says, leaving the room without another word.

Jimin hands me a tissue and I take it embarrassedly, blotting away my tears gently. ‘Sorry… about all of that,’ I begin to say, but Jimin and Jungkook both wave it off. ‘It’s fine, don’t apologise. Are you okay?’ Jungkook says, and I nod. ‘I’m fine, I’m fine. Jaehyun’s just being dramatic,’ I say, both of them silent. ‘Do you agree with him?’ I ask them, and Jungkook looks to Jimin, the latter sighing. ‘Well, it depends, y/n. Did you want to do what happened earlier at school, or did you do it because you were scared to say no?’ Jimin asks. ‘He didn’t force me! And he repaid the favour, so it’s not like I didn’t get anything out of it,’ I say. ‘That’s not the question I asked you. Just because he didn’t force you, it doesn’t mean it was consensual, or you wanted it. Did you want it?’ he asks, and I hesitate. ‘Well, no, but I didn’t mind,’ I reply, and Jimin shakes his head. ‘It’s not about whether or not you mind. It’s that you didn’t want to do it, but you did it anyway because… well, I don’t know why. Whether it’s because you want to keep him happy, or whether it’s because you’re scared of him. How often do you… indulge him when you don’t really want to?’ he asks me. ‘I don’t know, like… 8 times out of 10,’ I say, both of their mouths falling open. ‘Oh, my God, y/n,’ Jungkook says, and I shake my head. ‘No, it sounds bad, but it’s really not,’ I say defensively, and they exchange a glance. ‘All I’m saying, y/n, is that if I had a girlfriend and I found out that 8 out of every 10 times we have sex, she doesn’t want to, my heart would be broken,’ Jimin says, and I fall silent.

‘Are you scared of him, y/n?’ Jungkook asks gently, and I don’t reply for a moment. ‘I’m not scared of him. I’m scared of what falling out with him would mean,’ I say, looking at Jimin, who nods, remembering our earlier conversation. I explain to Jungkook what I explained to Jimin earlier, the boy shaking his head in disgust at everything I say. ‘y/n, Jaehyun said it; you don’t have to marry him. Why are you forcing yourself to?’ Jungkook asks. ‘It’s more complicated than that. I do love him, and I do want to marry him, and he’s all I’ve ever known. If I left him… it’d be leaving everything comfortable, everything familiar. He is my home, as much as my family and friends are, as much as this house is,’ I say. ‘So, because you’re scared of the unknown, you give in to him to keep him sweet?’ Jungkook asks, and I nod. ‘I feel sorry for you, y/n, I really do. And I hope it gets to a point when the two of you love each other enough for you to refuse him without it affecting your relationship,’ Jungkook says, and I smile sadly. ‘Thank you, Jungkook, I appreciate that. One day, maybe,’ I say, both of them nodding.

‘Anyway, moving on from all that depressing sad stuff, I’ve still got another surprise for you, Jimin! And you and Jaehyun should come too, JK!’ I say excitedly. ‘Shall I go get Jaehyun then?’ he asks as I write on a little post-it note for father and the staff to help themselves to the food we made. ‘We’ll come up too. You can get changed into something more comfortable if you want,’ I say, wrapping some of the food up in a tissue and heading towards the door, the two of them following behind me. We go back up the stairs, chatting idly about school, and I knock on Jaehyun’s door when we reach it. He answers it a few moments later, still annoyed. ‘I’m sorry. I know you worry about me, and I promise to talk to you more and explain it all to you. And I brought you food,’ I say, handing him the tissue. ‘Whatever, idiot, you don’t need to apologise,’ he says gruffly, taking the food from me. ‘You know that surprise I planned for Jimin? Do you and JK wanna come too?’ I ask, Jaehyun looking to Jungkook who nods. ‘Yeah, we’ll come. You’re not dressing up, are you?’ he asks. ‘Nope, I’m wearing this. Casual,’ I say, and Jaehyun nods. ‘We’ll meet by the front door in 5?’ I suggest, Jaehyun nodding before retreating into his room, Jungkook doing the same. ‘Jimin, come with me. I’ve just gotta get a couple things,’ I say, the boy following me into my room.

‘Sit down, if you want,’ I say, the boy gently sitting on my bed as I head over to my vanity table, pressing the buttons in the wall to put some music on. I pull the hairslides out of my hair and brush through it before putting it up into a sleek ponytail, pulling out a few baby hairs or I’ll look like an egg. I put on some lip balm and change from my fluffy socks into a pair of black ankle socks, sliding on my black fluffy sliders. I quickly put some body lotion on my elbows and knees, before getting out a little backpack, a custom black Gucci one, and put in my lip balm, a brush, my phone and a portable charger, and my purse. ‘Let’s go,’ I say, heading to the door. ‘Don’t you need a jumper or jacket? It might be a bit colder now, right?’ he asks. ‘Um, I should be fine. I keep a hoodie of Taeyong’s in my car anyway, so I’ll just put that on,’ I say, Jimin nodding. We leave my room, and he grabs a pair of black and white Nike trainers from his room before we head down to the front door, Jungkook already there and waiting, playing some sort of game on his phone. His all black attire, a black Fila t-shirt and a pair of Puma sweatpants, black socks (thankfully showing a strip of his leg) and black Fenty creepers (of which I have a pair myself), accentuates his slim and muscly figure nicely. ��Hmm, now, we’re just waiting for Jaehyun,’ I say, just as I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. ‘For once. Usually I’m waiting for you,’ Jaehyun says, coming to join us, dressed in a practically identical outfit to Jungkook’s, the brands slightly different. ‘Shall we all go in the same car?’ Jaehyun suggests, and I nod. ‘You drive,’ I say, and Jaehyun nods. We go out to his car, and I slide into the back. ‘I’ll sit in the back,’ Jungkook says, joining me as Jimin and Jaehyun get into the front.

‘Can I connect my phone, Jae?’ I ask, the boy just nodding as he zooms off the drive, and I do so, instantly putting on the playlist Jimin and I were listening to in the kitchen. ‘All you ever listen to is RnB, don’t you get bored?’ Jaehyun asks. ‘What else is there to listen to?’ I ask. ‘Loads. Pop. Rap. Hip-hop. Blues. Funk. Country. Electro. Techno,’ Jaehyun lists, and I laugh. ‘Or UK music’s good. Like bashment and grime and drill and afrobeats and stuff,’ Jungkook laughs, Jimin laughing along with him. Obviously there’s some kind of joke here, but it goes over mine and Jaehyun’s heads. ‘Grime? Drill? What?’ Jaehyun asks, Jungkook and Jimin looking at us incredulously. ‘It’s like… I don’t know. Like a mix of hip-hop, rap and urban. I was just joking, really. But it’s actually not that bad. You should put some on,’ Jungkook says, and I hold my phone out to him. He types something into Spotify, and then puts on a playlist, presumably one full of said ‘UK music’. A bass heavy beat begins, practically blasting out of the speakers, and both Jimin and Jungkook rap every word, the lyrics talking explicitly about money, drugs, and women’s bodies. Once the song finishes, Jungkook pauses the playlist, looking for our feedback. ‘It was good. I liked the beat and the flow. Not sure about the lyrics but… we move,’ I say, Jimin shooting me a grin. ‘I liked it too. Play some more,’ Jaehyun says, Jungkook playing the playlist, another song playing. The beat is similar, and so are the lyrics, but the song’s still good. We bop to the playlist, Jungkook and Jimin singing and rapping along as Jaehyun and I just listen.

‘Do you wanna stop for food? There’s a McDonalds up here on the left,’ Jaehyun says. ‘I don’t mind, whatever you guys wanna do,’ I say. ‘Um, I could eat,’ Jungkook says, Jimin agreeing, and Jaehyun pulls into the McDonalds drive thru. ‘What do you want?’ Jaehyun asks. ‘I’ll have a large 5 chicken select meal, with a coke please,’ Jimin says. ‘I’ll have a large Big Mac meal with a Sprite,’ Jungkook says. ‘Um, I’ll have a spicy chicken wrap,’ I say, all three of them turning to look at me. ‘y/n, cut it out. If you’re having a wrap, I’m getting you nuggets or fries too. What do you want?’ Jaehyun asks, and I sigh. ‘Jae, I’m fine with ju-’ ‘What do you want, y/n?’ ‘I’ll have the wrap with 6 nuggets,’ I say, and Jaehyun raises an eyebrow at me. ‘And a Diet Coke. No ice,’ I say, my brother grinning at me. He orders all the food, getting himself a large Chicken Legend meal with a Fanta, and pays with his black card, the conversation I had with Jimin earlier happening again with Jungkook now. We get our food through the second window, and they try to give us four free McFlurrys too, a number written on one of them.

‘The one with the number is for the girl, from my colleague,’ the server says. ‘Well, the girl is my sister, and she has a man, so tell your colleague thanks, but she’s good,’ Jaehyun says, as kindly as possible. ‘Oh, um, well, take the ice creams anyway,’ the server says. ‘We’re alright, thanks,’ Jaehyun says, giving them a tip before speeding off. ‘Damn, I thought it was a one-off earlier, but obviously not. Is this a regular thing for you, y/n?’ Jimin asks, and I nod tiredly, rolling my eyes. ‘It’s so annoying. It’s only because we’re rich,’ I say. ‘And because you’re pretty,’ Jaehyun says, and I scoff. ‘No,’ I reply. ‘Yes,’ all three of them say, and my eyes widen slightly, taken aback. ‘Wait, really?’ I ask, and Jungkook laughs. ‘Why else, y/n? If you were ugly and rich, they wouldn’t give you their numbers, but if you were poor and pretty, they still would. What’s the common denominator?’ Jungkook says. ‘I’m not sure that’s accurate,’ I say, and they all shake their heads. ‘Shut up and eat your nuggets,’ Jaehyun says, all of us laughing.

We arrive at the shopping centre around ten minutes later. The others have already finished eating, and I’m still on my nuggets as Jaehyun pulls up to the delivery entrance. The guy waves us through, recognising the car, and Jimin and Jungkook look around in confusion. ‘What are we doing? Where are we going?’ Jimin asks. ‘You’ll see in a minute,’ I say excitedly. We park up by the entrance where security stands, and we all get out of the car, drinks cups in hands. ‘Jaehyun, y/n, nice to see you again,’ one of the security guards says, shaking our hands. ‘Nice to see you too, Sihyuk. This is Jimin and this is Jungkook,’ Jaehyun says, the security guard shaking their hands too. ‘Let me take you up,’ Sihyuk says, leading us through the door. He takes us through cold corridors, almost like tunnels, with industrial wires and tubes everywhere, bright fluorescent hospital lighting in strips above us. ‘Are you taking us to be murdered?’ Jungkook jokes, all of us laughing. ‘We’re nearly there,’ I say, just as we near a door on the left of us. Sihyuk opens it for us, letting us through, and we step into a clean and classy room, crystal chandeliers streaming with mellow lights, marble pillars, cream sofas and fluffy cushions. The staff in there practically rush over, shaking all of our hands. ‘Ah, you brought guests,’ I hear a voice from behind me, turning to see Chaerin. She embraces Jaehyun and me before shaking hands with Jimin and Jungkook as my brother introduces them. ‘It’s nice to meet you both. Shall I do the speech?’ she asks, and I nod excitedly. ‘You’ve gotta make it authentic for them,’ I say, and she grins affectionately, rolling her eyes at me.

‘Welcome to our personal shopping experience. We’ll take your measurements and then we’ll bring clothes out for you, one-by-one. The models will be wearing them first, and then you can try them on if you like them. Jaehyun will go first, followed by Jimin, then Jungkook, and finally y/n. Do we have any questions, or can we begin?’ Chaerin says, and Jaehyun and I turn to look at the other two, both of them looking slightly overwhelmed as they nod. ‘Brilliant. y/n, Jaehyun, take your seats, and Jimin, Jungkook, we’ll take your measurements if you don’t mind,’ Chaerin says, four staff members with tape measures appearing behind her. I take a seat on one sofa, tucking my legs beneath me, as Jaehyun sprawls across the other, kicking his shoes off and putting his feet up on the armrest. I watch amusedly as the stylists take Jimin and Jungkook’s measurements, the two looking like deer caught in headlights. Jimin has to take off his jumper so they can take his chest and waist measurements accurately, and his t-shirt gets caught with his jumper as he pulls it over his head, exposing a flash of hard abs and a prominent v-line, the sight making my stomach turn. I look away almost instantly, meeting Jaehyun’s eyes, sparkling with amusement, and then look down at my lap, embarrassed at being caught.

Jimin and Jungkook come and join us a few moments later, Jimin coming to sit on the sofa with me as Jungkook sits on the other sofa with Jaehyun. ‘This is so cool. Is that how you guys always shop?’ Jungkook asks. ‘Yeah, it’s so that we can buy our clothes in peace without people approaching us because they recognise us, and also so we can get a look at the newest releases before they’re put out on shop floors,’ I explain. ‘I bet it costs a bomb,’ Jimin says drily. ‘Yeah, but trust me, it’s so worth it. Wait ‘til you guys see some of the stuff they bring out for us,’ Jaehyun says excitedly as I sip on my drink. ‘Is it all designer stuff?’ Jungkook asks almost embarrassedly. ‘Some of it. But it’s cool, we’ll cover the cost. Don’t even worry about it,’ I say, both of them looking like they want to argue, but they opt not to. The models start to come out wearing clothes for Jaehyun and we all point out items we think would suit him, ranging from tops, trousers and coats, to shoes, jewellery and bags, even socks and underwear. He then goes to try them on, and we choose what we like him in, and what we don’t. Jaehyun’s always been a guy with expensive taste, and so he ends up choosing many of the same brands he’s always worn; Prada, Supreme, Fendi, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Gucci and Alexander McQueen.

Then it’s Jimin’s turn, and he ends up mainly taking a liking to Chanel, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine, his clothing choices tasteful and classy, lots of Chelsea boots, slim fit trousers, plain tops, and distinct jackets. He also chooses a lot Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent jewellery; earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets that are delicate and feminine. I love the fact that he doesn’t care about which gender the pieces are aimed at, choosing clothes and accessories from both the male and female collections. When he tries them on, I have to actively keep my mouth shut, opting to just nod and smile, because I’m speechless. His figure is amazing, slim shoulders, even slimmer waist, mile long lean legs, hard muscle built up everywhere except for his face and ass (which is deliciously round and pert - it gives my ass a run for its money). He’s beautiful, the clothes making him look like a supermodel, his purple hair giving him such a unique look. Jaehyun and Jungkook both give me amused looks every time Jimin goes into the back to change, and I try to ignore them, just sipping on the complimentary glass of wine they’ve given me.

Then it’s Jungkook’s turn, and it’s clear to see that his style is definitely comfort first; mainly black, oversized and cosy clothes, occasionally opting for some tighter, more form-fitting pieces. The designers he chooses include Acne Studios, Fila, Nike, Adidas and Balenciaga, with a few Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren and Gucci pieces too, amongst many others. When he tries them on, he either comes out looking like an e-boy – with cargo trousers and military boots, chains and harnesses galore – a college boy – with oversized sweaters and loose sweatpants, hats and trainers – or a supermodel – with skin-tight trousers, form-fitting tees and tops, and fashionable jackets. He also has several ear piercings, and chooses several pairs of earrings, studs, hoops and dangly, all of them silver.

And then it’s my turn. I choose practically every piece they bring out for me, not discriminating against a single designer. I choose dresses, tops, trousers, jeans, skirts, jackets, coats, co-ords, heels, boots, trainers, flats, sandals, all different kinds of bags, necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, arm bracelets, anklets, hairslides, headbands, scarves, hats, socks, underwear (not gonna lie, I felt my face heat up when the underwear models came out and I picked nearly every pair, all of them lacy, strappy and slightly risqué. Jaehyun, used to my hoe antics, doesn’t bat an eyelid, helping me to pick some out, but I don’t even dare to look at the other two, slightly embarrassed). It takes an age for me to try them all on, Jaehyun and Jungkook hyping me up and even choosing which outfit I should wear this Saturday (a Balmain velvet little black dress with silver embellishments on it), but Jimin does nothing more than what I did, smiling and nodding with a random cough thrown in every now and then. Either he couldn’t care less about which clothes I choose, or I’ve got more of an effect on him than I thought (which makes me awfully proud of myself).

Once I’ve changed back into my original clothes and re-joined the boys, Chaerin reappears after disappearing all night. I know from previous times that she’s in the back, processing which clothes we choose and getting them bagged up to be sent to our house before we get back. ‘Thank you, Chaerin, we loved it,’ I say, the boys murmuring their ‘thank you’s behind me. ‘You’re most welcome, my loves. Now, get on home, and don’t be strangers. Remember, if you need styling, I’m always available for my favourite twins, and any of their friends,’ she says warmly, hugging us all, the BTS boys included. We say another ‘thank you’ before we’re led back through the draughty industrial corridors out onto the car park. We all climb into Jaehyun’s car, and it isn’t until Jaehyun starts driving that conversation starts up. ‘I wanna just say, guys, that that was the most boujee thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m really grateful for it. Like, thank you so much for all those amazing new clothes,’ Jungkook says, my heart warming. ‘Oh, JK, it was nothing. Trust me, we’ll have you doing loads of different boujee things while you’re with us. But you’re welcome,’ I grin at the boy. ‘Yeah, guys, I wanna say thank you too. I’ve always… I’ve always wanted to change my style, but I’ve never been able to afford much more than the standard teen boy fashion. Being able to get all those clothes that I’ve been into for years is such a privilege. I’m really thankful,’ Jimin says sincerely, nearly bringing a tear to my eye. ‘It’s nothing, bro, we got you. Anything you want, let us know, we’ll get it for you. We’re spoiled brats, let us spoil you guys now,’ Jaehyun says, slapping Jimin’s thigh, a brotherly gesture, and Jimin grins at him. They’ve only been with us a day, and yet I feel like our bonds with them are already strong.

After around ten minutes of just listening to chill RnB (we’re too tired for grime right now), Jaehyun speaks; ‘hey, y/n, you remember that diner we used to go to all the time? Mum used to take us.’ ‘Yeah, I remember,’ I say, wondering where he’s going with this. ‘It’s about a minute from here. Do you guys wanna go? They do the best desserts there, and the milkshakes are beautiful,’ Jaehyun says. ‘Yeah, sure,’ Jimin says, Jungkook agreeing. ‘It’s so cool in there. Like an authentic American diner. It’s been a while since we went, to be fair, but from what I can remember, it’s amazing, so cute and retro,’ I say, just as we turn onto a familiar road, and I know that it’s near. Half a minute later, Jaehyun pulls into the car park of The Golden Spoon, and I practically leap out of the car, eager to go get my favourite strawberry milkshake. ‘Aren’t you cold, y/n?’ Jungkook asks me, and I realise then that yes, I am cold. ‘I’m fine,’ I say, and he raises an eyebrow at me as we head towards the entrance. ‘You so should’ve worn a jumper,’ Jimin says. ‘Yeah, but I told you I had one of Taeyong’s in my car. It’s just a shame that we went in Jae’s car,’ I say, Jimin shaking his head. He starts to pull off his sweater, exposing his muscles again, and hands it to me, leaving him in just a thin white t-shirt. ‘Are you sure? I bet you’re cold now,’ I say, and he laughs. ‘I don’t have my legs out as well,’ he says, and I take it embarrassedly, pulling it over my head. It smells amazing, like the same smell that was on the air when he first got into my car yesterday; a nice cologne, baked goods and something distinct I’ve never smelt before, something that must just be Jimin. We step into the diner, the smell of greasy food and baked goods hitting us like a tidal wave. The walls are painted baby blue, the floor checked black and white, and the booths and seats are all red, pictures of old cars and big groups of white people in the 50s hung up everywhere, making it seem authentic.

We slide into a booth, scanning the menus and a server instantly comes over to take our order. ‘I’ll have a chocolate milkshake please,’ Jaehyun says. ‘I’ll have a chocolate too please,’ Jimin says. ‘Can I have strawberry please?’ Jungkook asks, and then they all turn to me. ‘Um, how many calories are in the strawberry milkshakes?’ I ask, Jaehyun groaning, Jungkook and Jimin shaking their heads and the server looking taken aback. ‘I don’t know from the top of my head, but I can check for you,’ she begins, but Jaehyun waves her off. ‘It’s fine, she’ll have a strawberry as well please. Do we want any food?’ Jaehyun asks. ‘Can I have a slice of the, um, Sandy’s Chocolate Cake please?’ Jungkook says, the server writing it down. ‘I’ll have a chocolate fudge brownie with custard. And can I have that with an extra serving of custard please?’ Jaehyun asks, the server nodding with a blush, obviously finding my brother attractive (you’d have to be stupid not to). ‘I don’t want anything,’ I say, and Jimin looks at me. ‘I’m not really that hungry either, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go halves?’ Jimin suggests, and I nod. ‘Yeah, good idea, let’s do that. Do you like lemon? Because they do the most amazing lemon meringue pie here,’ I say, and Jimin grins. ‘We’ll have a slice of the lemon meringue pie please,’ he says, and I smile at the server who notes it down. ‘That’s it, thank you,’ Jaehyun says, the server smiling before going to the back to put our order through.

Gentle retro music plays through the restaurant, only two other booths occupied; one by a young lovestruck couple and the other by an old lady by herself. She’s sat by the jukebox, choosing the songs, and I watch as she roots around in her purse, obviously looking for money to put into the jukebox. ‘Jimin, come with me to choose a song?’ I ask, and he nods instantly, both of us sliding out of our side of the booth. We walk shoulder to shoulder over to the jukebox, and I put in a coin from my purse. ‘Hmm, I can’t choose a song, I’m too indecisive. Will you choose one for me?’ I say, directing the question to the lady, who smiles at me. She picks an Elvis song, and then I put more money in, and she chooses another song. We carry on going until an hour’s worth of music is queued up, and as we head back to the table, Jimin grins at me. ‘That was cute,’ he says. ‘What?’ I ask. ‘You putting money in for that old lady to choose her songs. It was cute,’ he says, and I smile shyly to myself, looking down at my feet. ‘Whatever,’ I mumble, Jimin laughing under his breath. ‘You’re cute, princess,’ he says, and I feel myself getting even more embarrassed, trying to hide it as I slide into the booth, sitting up against the window.

Our milkshakes come then, topped with mounds of whipped cream, strawberries on mine and Jungkook’s, and a chocolate wafer on Jaehyun and Jimin’s. I take a long sip, savouring the taste, before offering it to Jimin. ‘Wanna try some?’ I say, and he nods, taking the straw into his mouth and taking a small sip. ‘Oh, my God, that tastes amazing,’ he says, and I grin. ‘Right? Way better than chocolate,’ I tease, and he rolls his eyes with a small smile. My phone pings then, and I look down at it, quickly replying to a text from Nayeon, and when I look back up, Jimin’s offering me his. ‘I’ll try a bit. Just to prove that strawberry’s better,’ I say, leaning forward to take a sip. And he pushes the glass towards me, covering my nose and left cheek in cream. ‘Jimin!’ I shriek, the boys bursting into laughter, and I can’t hold back my giggles as I blot the cream away with a tissue. ‘Idiot,’ I mutter, hitting him gently, which makes them laugh even more. And then I notice that Jaehyun has his phone up in his hands, recording us. He stops the recording when I look, and I hold a hand to block his phone. ‘Please don’t put that on your story,’ I say. ‘I was gonna put it on my private,’ he says. ‘Still.’ ‘Why not? Don’t worry, you look nice,’ he says. ‘That’s not it,’ I say, and he sighs. ‘I’m sorry, but if your man can’t deal with you having male friends, then that’s his problem, not yours or mine or Jimin’s or anyone’s. Okay?’ Jaehyun says, and I fall silent, not even bothering to say anything. ‘Put it on, then,’ I say, and all three of the boys grin victoriously.

Jaehyun starts to show Jungkook a funny video on his phone, and so I turn to Jimin. ‘So, how was your first day?’ I ask. ‘It was great. Thank you, for everything,’ he says, and I grin. ‘You are most welcome, Jimin. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it. Trust me, we’ll have loads more days like this,’ I say, and he smiles. ‘I hope so.’ ‘Well, tomorrow, you guys are at football, and you won’t get back ‘til like 8.30, so I’ll have dinner ready for when you all get home. Then Wednesday, we’re free, so we can do something then. Maybe we could go out for a meal somewhere. If you guys wear your new clothes, you’ll end up in some kind of gossip magazine, guaranteed. Then Thursday, we’re at the golf club. And then Friday, you guys are at football, and you’ll probably end up going for food and stuff after, and I’ll be at home with the girls for a girls’ night. Then we can kill some time on Saturday, and then tell everyone to come over around 6ish. And Sunday will be for recovering,’ I say, Jimin laughing. ‘Are your guys’ schedules always this packed? Because I don’t know how you can hack it,’ he says. ‘Hack it?’ I ask. ‘Um, it means like… manage it, deal with it, cope with it,’ he says, and I nod in understanding. ‘This week is actually quite laidback compared to my usual. Honestly, there is always something going on around here. And then nobody does anything on a Sunday, because you’ve gotta spend Sundays resting. The most I’ll ever do is meet Taeyong or Nayeon for food,’ I say, Jimin shaking his head incredulously. ‘I definitely wouldn’t be able to hack it,’ he says, and I laugh, a little grin playing at his lips.

Our dessert arrives then, and Jimin and I take alternating bites of the pie whilst Jaehyun and Jungkook scoff their desserts down. I have a few spoonful’s of Jaehyun’s custard (considering he got another helping because he knew I’d have some), and it all tastes amazing, just like it did all the previous times we’ve come here. When we’re finished, the server takes our plates away and Jaehyun pays. We all rise up from the booth, and I leave a very generous tip on the table for the server. As soon as we get into the car and Jaehyun starts driving, my phone starts ringing. I get it out and see that it’s Taeyong. ‘Great,’ I mutter before answering it. ‘Hey, babe,’ I say as cheerfully as I can, knowing what I’m in for, as Jaehyun turns down the music. ‘Either you’re purposely trying to annoy me, or you’re that oblivious as to what you’re doing,’ he practically spits down the phone, and I sigh. ‘Tae, what are you talking about?’ ‘You know exactly what I’m talking about. Whose jumper were you wearing in that video on Jae’s story?’ he asks, Jaehyun watching me in the mirror, both Jimin and Jungkook turning to look at me. Obviously, they can hear Taeyong’s words too, because he’s talking that loud. ‘Jimin’s,’ I say, seeing no point in lying.

‘What makes you think that that’s okay, y/n?’ he asks, and I laugh. ‘I was cold.’ ‘Why couldn’t you wear a jumper of your own?’ ‘It was still warm when we left the house, and we ended up taking Jaehyun’s car, so I couldn’t put on the jumper of yours that’s in my car,’ I explain. ‘That’s not good enough, y/n.’ ‘Tae, I’m sorry, but I don’t think there was anything wrong with that. I was cold, Jimin wasn’t, he offered me his jumper, and I said yes. That is it,’ I say. ‘But don’t you see what it looks like, y/n? First of all, that video looks like you’re flirting, and then to make it worse, you’re wearing his jumper. You’re making me look like an idiot,’ he says. ‘Tae, no one thinks that. For all anyone else knows, that jumper I’m wearing is yours, or Jaehyun’s,’ I say, and he laughs. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, y/n, neither of us wear Nike,’ he says, and I see Jimin let out a humourless laugh, turning back to face the front. ‘Oh, get real, Tae, no one knows or cares what you or Jaehyun or I wear. No one will think deeply enough into that video. They will laugh and then skip to the next story. It’s not that big of a deal, and you need to get a grip,’ I say bitterly, surprised with myself. ‘y/n, people will notice. I don’t want people to think my girlfriend is going around with other boys,’ he says, voice shaking with anger, and I scoff. ‘I think it’s pretty obvious I’m yours, I had your dick in my mouth at school a few hours ago,’ I spit out, all three boys in the car pulling faces, but I pay no attention, shaking as I speak. I’ve never spoken to him like this before, and it feels good. Scary, but good. He stays silent for a few seconds, and all I can think is that this is it. He’s gonna dump me, and I’ll be left single and alone. And then he speaks; ‘I’m coming over to your house. I’ll be there in twenty.’

The line clicks off, and I put my phone back into my bag. ‘I’m proud of you for standing up to him like that, y/n,’ Jaehyun says, and I smile, feeling nervous. ‘Why’s he coming over?’ Jungkook asks, and Jaehyun laughs. ‘Either because he knows that y/n will struggle to speak to him the way she just did in real life and so he thinks she’ll apologise and he’ll win, or he’s coming to stay the night… if you get what I mean,’ Jaehyun says. ‘Oh,’ Jungkook says. ‘What if he hits me or something? He seemed angry, Jae, I’m kinda scared,’ I say as we near the house. ‘y/n, relax. He wouldn’t, he wouldn’t dare to lay a hand on you. I’ll kill him before he hits you. You’ll kill him before he hits you,’ Jaehyun says. ‘I’ll kill him before he hits you,’ Jungkook says, all of us laughing. ‘God, he’s such a pompous moron. He really annoys me sometimes,’ I say. ‘I’ve known him for less than one day, and he annoys me sometimes too,’ Jimin says, coaxing more laughter from us as Jaehyun pulls up on the driveway. All of us climb out of the car, Changwoo greeting us. ‘Is father home yet, Changwoo?’ I ask, and Changwoo shakes his head. ‘I’m afraid not, miss,’ he replies, and I sigh. ‘Okay, thank you anyway. Goodnight,’ I say, and he bids us goodnight in return. ‘Oh, Changwoo, by the way, Taeyong’s coming over, he’ll be here soon,’ I say. ‘Okay, miss, I’ll make sure the gate’s open for him,’ he says, and I thank him before heading into the house with the boys.

We head into the smallest living room, the one beside the kitchen, and Jaehyun practically throws himself down onto the biggest sofa. Jimin and Jungkook sit on another sofa, and I perch on an armchair as Jaehyun turns the on the TV, some kind of sports match beginning to blare out into the room. The clock on the wall reads 10.51, and I know that Taeyong will be here in the next nine minutes, the thought making my stomach turn. I stare unseeingly at the TV as the boys get comfortable, watching the match whilst scrolling through their phones. ‘y/n, stop stressing, it’s gonna be fine,’ Jaehyun says, breaking me out of my reverie, and I nod, trying to ease my nerves. I look up at the clock again, the time now reading 10.57, and then I hear the front door, my heart jumping in my chest. All three of the boys look at me, giving me encouraging smiles, and I nod, hearing footsteps nearing us. The living room door opens, and Taeyong stands there, in a pair of slim-fit trousers and a plain t-shirt, a jacket in his hand. ‘Hey, Jae, JK, Jimin,’ Taeyong says, going around to the room to shake their hands, all of them greeting him in return, before he turns to look at me. ‘Can I speak to you, baby? In the kitchen?’ he asks, and I nod, feeling slightly more relaxed at hearing the pet name.

He gently grabs one of my hands and we go next door into the kitchen. ‘What’s this?’ he asks, spotting the food on the counter. ‘We did some baking earlier. Try some if you want, it’s really nice,’ I say, and he does so, breaking off small pieces of both food items and trying them, nodding at me afterwards. ‘They taste nice. Have you had any?’ he asks, obviously wondering how much I’ve been eating, and now that I think about it, I’m mortified. I’ve had a Starbucks, a McDonalds, wine, a milkshake, and dessert, as well as the baking. But it’s about time he stopped monitoring my diet, right? That’s something I should do myself; he doesn’t need to. ‘I tried a bit of each. I’ve actually had a lot to eat today, more than I have in a long time,’ I say, and he nods. ‘Well, that’s okay. It’s good that you have cheat days. It’s not good to eat as little as you do every day. I don’t want you withering away into nothing,’ he says gently, and I have to stop my mouth from falling open in shock. Where has this new attitude come from?

‘So what did you want to talk about?’ I ask, and he takes a seat at the breakfast bar. ‘I wanted to apologise, and I wanted to do it face to face. I’m sorry for speaking to you the way I did on the phone, and I’m sorry for getting so jealous and possessive all the time, and I’m sorry for watching your diet, and I’m sorry for treating you the way I’ve been treating you the past few months. It’s not… it’s not right, and I’m sorry. I was just thinking that I missed the way we used to be, remember? We used to be so in love and romantic and annoyingly sickly, and I miss that. Now, I just feel like we’re an old married couple, and I realised it’s because of me. I’m trying to keep you close, keep you mine and keep you as you are, but I’m only pushing you away. I miss us, baby, and I’m sorry,’ he says sincerely. I can’t believe my ears; I never expected him to say this. ‘What… where is this coming from, Tae?’ I ask. ‘Seeing you with Jimin, it scared me. It hit me, y/n, that even though we’re promised to each other, nothing is guaranteed, nothing is certain. There’s nothing stopping you from leaving me, and I never realised that before, which is something I should’ve been aware of. I can’t just treat you however, because I could lose you to someone else. And my treatment of you, it wasn’t right. I was treating you like my property, but that’s not the case,’ he says, sounding slightly more hysterical with every word. When I don’t reply instantly, he runs a hand through his hair, his eyes looking teary and bright. ‘I’m sorry, y/n, I really am. I love you, baby, and I don’t wanna lose you. I’ll sort myself out and I’ll fix things, I’ll make it right, just please, don’t leave me,’ he says, and for the first time in years, I see Taeyong cry. I take a hesitant step towards where he’s sat, before moving to stand between his legs, and I pull him into my arms. He buries his head in my chest and I hold him tight, gently scraping my nails across his scalp to soothe him, knowing that he likes the feeling.

After a couple minutes, I move away, and he takes a deep breath, composing himself. ‘Taeyong, I’m not gonna leave you. Yes, for pretty much all of this school year, your behaviour towards me hasn’t been great, but that doesn’t mean I’ll leave you. Every couple goes through rough patches, not just us, and I still love you, just as much as I always have. I could never leave you, baby,’ I say. ‘Promise me, y/n. I know it’s silly and immature, but pinky promise me,’ he says, holding out his pinky. ‘I promise to never leave you. As long as you treat me well,’ I say, locking my pinky with him. ‘Always, always. I love you, y/n, I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Stop apologising. It’s okay,’ I say, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. I pull away after a few seconds, and he smiles at me. ‘I wanna start over with you. I want us to fall in love all over again,’ he says, and I smile shyly. ‘What, so we’re gonna start dating from the start?’ I ask, and he nods with a grin. ‘I’m gonna court you,’ he says, and I laugh. ‘Court me?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘Like in the 50s,’ he says, and I laugh, putting my arms around his neck and toying with the short hairs at the nape of his neck. ‘Well, I’ll telling you now, don’t throw rocks at my window or anything stupid like that,’ I say, and he bursts out laughing, resting his head against my chest. ‘What about our… agreement?’ I ask. ‘Well, that can stay the same, right? It doesn’t have to change,’ he says, and my heart sinks slightly. ‘Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,’ I say as he sits up, and I have to put on a smile to hide my disappointment. He can’t really love me as much as he claims if he doesn’t want to stay monogamous to me. ‘Are you gonna stay the night?’ I ask him, and he shakes his head, standing up. ‘If I’m courting you, I’m doing it properly,’ he says, and I can’t help but pout at him. ‘Don’t give me that face. We’re gonna start over, like it was when we first started dating when we were, like, 16,’ he says. ‘Fine,’ I sulk, and he laughs. ‘I love you. Come on, let me go say bye, and then I’ll go back home. Seulgi’s alone,’ he says, wiggling his eyebrows, and when I frown, he laughs. ‘I’m kidding, I’m kidding,’ he says, leading me back into the living room where the boys seem suspiciously focused on the TV.

‘I’m heading back, I’ll see you guys tomorrow,’ Taeyong says, all of them bidding each other goodbye with fist bumps and handshakes. ‘Shall I walk you to the door?’ I ask. ‘It’s fine, baby, stay in here. I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he says, pulling me into his arms and pressing a very PG kiss to my lips. ‘I love you. Goodnight,’ he says, blowing me a kiss before he leaves. I turn back to face the boys who all look up at me. ‘That… was not what I was expecting,’ Jaehyun says as I throw myself onto the sofa beside Jungkook. ‘Me neither,’ I sigh, my head spinning. ‘Did he… did he cry?’ Jungkook asks, and I nod. ‘He did. Took me slightly by surprise,’ I say, and I spot an amused smile on Jimin’s face. ‘What’s funny?’ I ask, genuinely intrigued. ‘I don’t know if it’s my place, y/n,’ he says. ‘Tell me. I wanna know your take on it,’ I say, and he shrugs. ‘I don’t buy it, personally. We’ve been here one day, and he’s crying because he doesn’t want to lose you to me? I think it’s because of the way you spoke to him on the phone. It took him by surprise, so he spouted all that crap, squeezed out some fake tears, told you he loves you a couple times, to butter you up, to get you to comply with him, to pipe down. I don’t see how me being here for literally a day can have such an effect on him. That’s just my opinion, anyway,’ he says, and I digest his words. There’s no way he would fake all of that, surely? ‘I disagree, but thank you for the new outlook. I’ll keep that in mind for the next couple weeks, and see if your theory becomes more plausible depending on his behaviour,’ I say tactfully, and he grins. ‘Not gonna lie, y/n, I think he’s right. I don’t think Tae’s being genuine with you. I completely agree with Jimin; he did that to keep you sweet,’ Jaehyun says, and I feel tears coming to my eyes. How many times have I cried today? ‘So you don’t think he cares?’ I ask, voice wavering, and they all look slightly panicked. ‘No, y/n, he cares, of course he cares. It’s just that he probably doesn’t like the way you spoke to him on the phone and instead of going at you, he pulled the guilt trip,’ Jungkook says gently, patting my shoulder, and I nod, sniffling. ‘I think you need to go to bed, y/n. Get a good night’s rest,’ Jaehyun says carefully, not wanting to set me off again, ‘you’ll feel better in the morning.’

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